Foot tendon exercising apparatus

ABSTRACT

A foot tendon exercising apparatus includes a base, a footplate pivoted to the base, a driving mechanism installed in the base and adapted to turn the footplate relative to the base to a desired tilted position, an upright support upwardly extended from a front side of the base, and a control switch mounted on the upright support and adapted to control the operation of the driving mechanism.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a foot exercisingapparatus, and more particularly to a foot tendon exercising apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002]FIG. 1 shows a foot tendon exercising apparatus according to theprior art. According to this design, the foot tendon exercisingapparatus comprises a base 81′ defining a plurality of locating grooves84′, a footplate 83′ having a rear side pivoted to the base 81′ and aplurality of bottom positioning grooves 85′ transversely disposed at thebottom side of the footplate 83′, and a support plate 82′ coupledbetween the locating grooves 84′ of the base 81′ and the bottompositioning grooves 85′ of the footplate 83′ to support the footplate83′ in one of a series of tilted positions.

[0003]FIG. 2 shows another structure of foot tendon exercising apparatusaccording to the prior art. According to this design, the foot tendonexercising apparatus comprises a box-like base 91, a footplate 92, thefootplate 92 having a rear side pivoted to the base 91, a balance block94 mounted inside the base 91, two links 95 bilaterally coupled betweenthe balance block 94 and the footplate 92, and an adjustment screw 93mounted in the front side of the base 91 and coupled to the balanceblock 94. When rotating the adjustment screw 93, the balance block 94 ismoved forwards/backwards, thereby causing the links 95 to lift/lower thefootplate 92.

[0004] The aforesaid two prior art designs are still not satisfactory infunction. The drawbacks of the aforesaid prior art designs are numerousas outlined hereinafter.

[0005] 1. It is complicated to adjust the tilted angular position of thefootplate manually, and the user must stop the exercise and get off thefootplate when making an adjustment.

[0006] 2. When exercising, the user must keep the body in balance, andthe user cannot concentrate one's efforts on the exercise if the body isnot kept in balance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention has been accomplished to provide a foottendon exercising apparatus, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.It is therefore the primary objective of the present invention toprovide a foot tendon exercising apparatus, which enables the user toadjust the tilted angular position of the footplate without stop theexercise.

[0008] It is another objective of the present invention to provide afoot tendon exercising apparatus, which has means for the holding of thehands so that the user can keep the body in balance during exercising.

[0009] It is still another objective of the present invention to providea foot tendon exercising apparatus, which is programmably controlled tofit different exercise requirements.

[0010] In keeping with the principle of the present invention, theforegoing objectives of the present invention are attained by a foottendon exercising apparatus which is comprised of a base, a footplatepivoted to the base, a driving mechanism installed in the base andadapted to turn the footplate relative to the base to the desired tiltedposition, an upright support upwardly extended from a front side of thebase, and a programmable control switch mounted on the upright supportand adapted to control the operation of the driving mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a foot tendon exercising apparatusaccording to the prior art.

[0012]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a foot tendon exercising apparatusaccording to another prior art.

[0013]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a foot tendon exercising apparatusaccording to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0014]FIG. 4 is a side view of the first embodiment of the presentinvention showing an application example of the foot tendon exercisingapparatus.

[0015]FIG. 5 is another side view of the first embodiment of the presentinvention showing the tilted position of the footplate adjusted.

[0016]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a foot tendon exercising apparatusaccording to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0017]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a foot tendon exercising apparatusaccording to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a foot tendon exercising apparatus 10is shown constructed according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention. The foot exercising apparatus 10 comprises a base 20, afootplate 30, a driving mechanism 40, an upright support 50, and acontrol switch 60.

[0019] The base 20 is a hollow rectangular frame shell for positioningon the floor, having two posts 21 bilaterally disposed near the rearside, and a U-shaped coupling plate 22 disposed near the front side andextended in direction toward the posts 21.

[0020] The footplate 30 is a rectangular plate pivoted with one side(the rear side) to the posts 21 of the base 20. The top sidewall of thefootplate 30 is a flat sidewall for the positioning of the user's feet.The footplate 30 comprises two bottom lugs 31 bilaterally disposed nearthe rear side, and an upward stop flange 32 upwardly extended along therear side and adapted to support the user's feet on the flat topsidewall of the footplate 30. The upward stop flange 32 has two recessedportions 321 adapted to receive the heels when the user positioned thefeet on the footplate 30.

[0021] The driving mechanism 40 is adapted to tilt the footplate 30,comprising an actuating device, for example, a gear box 41, the gear box41 having a coupling plate 45 pivoted to the U-shaped coupling plate 22of the base 20, a screw rod 43 coupled to output side of the gear box41, a coupling tube 44, the coupling tube 44 having one end threadedonto the screw rod 43 and the other end pivoted to the bottom lugs 31 ofthe footplate 30, and a reversible motor 42 coupled to the input side ofthe gear box 41 (at the right side of the gear box 41) and adapted torotate the screw rod 43 through the transmission gear set (not shown) inthe gear box 41. When rotating the screw rod 43 in one direction, thecoupling tube 44 is moved forwards toward the gear box 41 to lower thefootplate 30. On the contrary, when rotating the screw rod 43 in thereversed direction, the coupling tube 44 is moved backwards to lift thefootplate 30.

[0022] The upright support 50 comprises a main rod member 51 upwardlyextended from the center area of the front side of the base 20, atubular member 52 upwardly extended from the top of the main rod member51 and terminating in a loop-shaped handle 53.

[0023] The control switch 60 is mounted on the loop-shaped handle 53,and electrically connected to the reversible motor 42 of the drivingmechanism 40 through a circuit board and an electric line (not shown).The electric line extends through a hole in the upright post 50 to thereversible motor 42. Through the control switch 60, the user can controlthe direction of rotation and number of turns of the reversible motor42.

[0024] Referring to FIG. 4, when in use, the user position the feet onthe footplate 30 with the heels supported in the recessed portions 321of the upward stop flange 32 and the toes facing the upright support 50,and then hold the handle 53 with the hands. Because the footplate 30 issupported on the posts 21 of the base 20 and the coupling tube 44 of thedriving mechanism 40 in an upwardly tilted position, the tendons of thefeet are stretched. Because the feet are supported on the upward stopflange 32 of the footplate 30 and the user can hold the handles 53 withthe hands when exercising, the foot tendon exercising apparatus is safein use.

[0025] When changing the tilting angle of the footplate 30, the user canoperate the control switch 60 to control the reversible motor 42 torotate the screw rod 43 clockwise or counter-clockwise, so as to movethe coupling tube 44 forwards or backwards and to further tilt thefootplate 30 downwards or upwards. FIG. 5 shows the footplate 30 tiltedupwards to a relatively higher angular position than the position shownin FIG. 4. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the angular positionof the footplate 30 manually, and the user can adjust the angularposition of the footplate 30 during exercising.

[0026] In actual practice, the control switch 60 can be made having aset of buttons adapted to turn the footplate 30 to different tiltedpositions (for example, 10°, 20°, 30°, and etc.). Alternatively thecontrol switch 60 can be made having two buttons that control clockwiserotation and counter-clockwise rotation of the reversible motor 42.

[0027] A sophisticated programmable control circuit may be used tocontrol the operation of the reversible motor 42. For example, thecontrol circuit can be set to turn the footplate 30 to a 10°-tiltedposition at the first minute, and then to turn the footplate 30 to a20°-tilted position at the second minute, and then to turn the footplate30 to a 30°-tilted position. Alternatively, the control circuit can beset to turn the footplate 30 up and down slowly at a constant speed. Ingeneral, the foot tendon exercising apparatus can be an intelligentexercising apparatus.

[0028]FIG. 6 shows a foot tendon exercising apparatus constructedaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention. According tothis embodiment, the foot tendon exercising apparatus 70 comprises amassaging device 72 installed in the footplate 71, and a back cushion 73at the upright support. The massaging device 72 comprises a vibrationplate 74 and a driving mechanism 75 adapted to vibrate the vibrationplate 74. The vibration plate 74 has raised massaging elements 76adapted to massage the sole of the feet. When the footplate 30 adjustedto a horizontal position, the user can sit on the footplate 30 with theback supported on the back cushion 73, enabling the massaging device 72to massage the user's hips and thighs.

[0029]FIG. 7 shows a foot tendon exercising apparatus constructedaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention. According tothis embodiment, the foot tendon exercising apparatus 80 comprises amassaging device 82 installed in the footplate 81. The massaging device82 is a flexible pad injection molded from a plastic mixture containingmineral powder that releases far-infrared rays to stimulate thecirculation of blood.

[0030] A prototype of foot tendon exercising apparatus has beenconstructed with the features of FIGS. 3˜7. The foot tendon exercisingapparatus functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussedearlier.

[0031] Although particular embodiments of the invention have beendescribed in detail for purposes of illustration, various modificationsand enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited exceptas by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A foot tendon exercising apparatus comprising: abase; a footplate mounted on said base, said footplate having a rearside pivoted to a rear side of said base and a top sidewall for thepositioning of the user's feet; a driving mechanism installed in saidbase and adapted to turn said footplate relative to said base to adesired tilted position; an upright support upwardly extended from afront side of said base, said upright support having a handle at a topside thereof; and a control switch mounted on said upright support andadapted to control the operation of said driving mechanism.
 2. The foottendon exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said footplatehas an upward stop flange upwardly extended along the rear side of saidfootplate and adapted to support the user's feet on the top sidewall ofsaid footplate.
 3. The foot tendon exercising apparatus as claimed inclaim 2 wherein said upward stop flange has two recessed portionsadapted to receive the user's heel when the user positioned the feet onthe top sidewall of said footplate.
 4. The foot tendon exercisingapparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said driving mechanism comprisesan actuating device pivoted to said base near a front side of said base,a screw rod coupled to said actuating device, a coupling tube adapted toturn said footplate relative to said base upon rotary motion of saidscrew rod, said coupling tube having a front thereof threaded onto saidscrew rod and a rear end thereof pivoted to said footplate, and areversible motor coupled to said actuating device and controlled by saidcontrol switch to rotate said screw rod.
 5. The foot tendon exercisingapparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said footplate comprises twobottom lugs bilaterally disposed near the rear side thereof, and therear end of said coupling tube is pivoted to the bottom lugs of saidfootplate.
 6. The foot tendon exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 4wherein said actuating device is a gear box adapted to transmit rotarydriving force from said reversible motor to said screw rod.
 7. The foottendon exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said footplatecomprises a massaging device adapted to massage and stimulate the soleof the user's feet.
 8. The foot tendon exercising apparatus as claimedin claim 7 wherein said massaging device comprises a vibration platesupported on the top sidewall of said footplate, said vibration platehaving raised massaging elements, and a driving mechanism installed insaid footplate and adapted to vibrate said vibration plate.
 9. The foottendon exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said uprightsupport comprises a back cushion.
 10. The foot tendon exercisingapparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said massaging device comprisesa pad that releases far-infrared rays.